Christ Church, Hampstead, is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

church in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, London. It is a church with particular connections to the old village of Hampstead and the Heath. Former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...

was married to his wife,

Violet Attlee Violet Helen Attlee, Countess Attlee (; 20 November 1895 – 7 June 1964) was the wife of British politician and Prime Minister Clement Attlee. Early life and education Violet Helen Millar was born in Hampstead as the tenth child and youngest da ...

, at Christ Church, Hampstead.

History

The present church was erected between 1850 and 1852 to designs by the architect

Samuel Daukes Samuel Whitfield Daukes (1811–1880) was an English architect, based in Gloucester and London. Family background Daukes was born in London in 1811, the son of Samuel Whitfield Daukes, a businessman with coal mining and brewery interests, who b ...

in the Early English Gothic style. In 1860 a timber gallery was erected by Sir Gilbert Scott (this was dismantled in the 1960s). In 1881–82 the north porch and aisle were added to designs by

Ewan Christian Ewan Christian (1814–1895) was a British architect. He is most frequently noted for the restorations of Southwell Minster and Carlisle Cathedral, and the design of the National Portrait Gallery. He was Architect to the Ecclesiastical Commiss ...

. The church is constructed of Kentish ragstone with Portland stone dressings and slate roofs. In 1855 the church built a primary school adjacent, originally for infants. By the post-World War II period the school catered to kindergarten (ages 3 – 5) and primary (ages 5 – 11) mixed gender students, organized as one class per year. This was one of many such church-associated schools in the area.

Vicars

* John Pelham 1852 - 1855 * Edward Bickersteth 1855 - 1885 *George Frederick Head 1885 - 1897 *George Sidney Streatfeild 1898 - 1901 *Alfred Edwin Deacon 1901 - 1917 *Thomas Brocas Waters 1917 - 1922 *Osmond Ralph Maude Roxby 1923 - 1936 *John Farquhar Richardson 1936 - 1941 *Frank Hay Gillingham 1941 - 1942 *Sydney James Nisbet Wallace 1942 - 1953 *David Thomas Jarvis 1953 - 1969 *John Alfred Sampford 1969 - 1979 *Christopher John Fairfax Scott 1979 - 1995 *Paul Derick Conrad 1995 - current

Bells

The church has a ring of eight bells, the heaviest of which weighs in at 24 cwt. They were installed in 2005 after Michael Royalton-Kisch, the current tower captain, single-handedly raised £100,000 to replace the old, unsafe bells. The current band practices on a Wednesday evening at 7pm, and rings for most Sunday services. The treble, tenor, third and fifth bells were the work of

Gillett & Johnston Gillett & Johnston was a clockmaker and bell foundry based in Croydon, England from 1844 until 1957. Between 1844 and 1950, over 14,000 tower clocks were made at the works. The company's most successful and prominent period of activity as a bel ...

, adopted from St Luke's in Cowley,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. The remaining four bells were cast by

Whitechapel Bell Foundry The Whitechapel Bell Foundry was a business in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. At the time of the closure of its Whitechapel premises, it was the oldest manufacturing company in Great Britain. The bell foundry primarily made church bells a ...

in 2005.

Organ

The church had an organ installed in 1857 by the celebrated builder

Henry Willis Henry Willis (27 April 1821 – 11 February 1901), also known as "Father" Willis, was an English organ player and builder, who is regarded as the foremost organ builder of the Victorian era. His company Henry Willis & Sons remains in busin ...

who also became the church's first organist. The organ has since been replaced. In about 1968 dry rot was found directly above the organ and to repair the damage the organ had to be partly dismantled. It was stored in the church but was never re-assembled. At some point after this it was taken away and stored (possibly by the organ builders Mander). After some trials of the Allen computer organ, a smaller 2 manual tracker action instrument was installed at the rear of the church. The BBC visited the church and chose to broadcast their Morning Service soon after, however the Willis organ that they heard on their 'scouting' visit had been dismantled by the time they came to broadcast live. There have been a number of famous organists including: * Walter Brooks *

1852 - 1859 *Henry Parratt 1859 – ???? (formerly organist of St. Paul's Church, Huddersfield) *John Charles Ward 1863 - 1868 *Dr. Marshall of Kidderminster 1868Musical Standard. 1 August 1868. P44 *Charles John Vincent 1883 – 1891 (formerly organist of St Eustachius' Church, Tavistock) *

Henry Walford Davies Sir Henry Walford Davies (6 September 1869 – 11 March 1941) was an English composer, organist, and educator who held the title Master of the King's Music from 1934 until 1941. He served with the Royal Air Force during the First World War, du ...

1891 - 1898 *

Cyril Rootham Cyril Bradley Rootham (5 October 1875 – 18 March 1938) was an English composer, educator and organist. His work at Cambridge University made him an influential figure in English music life. A Fellow of St John's College, where he was also or ...

1898 - 1901 * Ian Graham ? - 1964 * Gordon Whittard c 1964 - 1974?

References

{{Churches in Camden

Grade II listed churches in London Churches completed in 1852 19th-century Church of England church buildings Diocese of London Buildings and structures in Hampstead 1852 establishments in England Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Camden Ewan Christian buildings